The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hiker's Companion

It's one of my dreams to eventually thru-hike the PCT and I gobble up everything written about this magnificent trail. This book is not so much of a practical guide to the PCT, it's more of a history of the trail. It contains much information on wildflowers, the actual building of the trail, wildlife along the way and other bits of information in this vein. It doesn't contain a detailed description of various sections of the PCT, so it's not especially useful to someone about to start this adventure. If you're simply into the "thinking about it someday" stage, or planning a thru-hike in the next few years, then the book is relevant and interesting. Section hikers, like myself, can derive much useful info from several chapters.The photos are all in black and white, but are stunning, especially the ones near Mammoth and Yosemite. I would have liked it had Berger given more personal experiences and thoughts about her own thru hike, but she sprinkles bits of wisdom and experience throughout the narrative. If you're about the embark on this classic adventure, this book probably won't assist you on your way. But if you just like to read about the Pacific Crest Trail and delight in thinking you'll undertake this journey someday, then this is right up your alley.

"The PCT: A Hiker's Companion" is great for those wanting to find out more of the history, geology, climate, flora and fauna along the PCT. If you're looking for a pure guidebook (trail mileages, stopovers, alternate routes, etc), you're probably better off going with Jeffrey Schaffer (et. al.)'s "The Pacific Crest Trail" industry-standard guidebooks (California and Oregon/Washington).BUT, for those wanting more in-depth background, this is a great reference. I've hiked several sections of the PCT, and this book gave me great insight into the things I was seeing along the way... from the climate and life in the Mojave Desert to the geology of Devil's Postpile National Monument. It wasn't written in boring textbook fashion... I found it well written and very easy to read.If you're familiar with other Karen Berger works on the PCT, you'll recognize a few of the stories and photography used in this one, but mind you, I don't mean to say she's only recycling earlier material for this book. There really is a lot of new stuff in here, and it's definitely worth a look.